Blood Creamer
by Canvas nut
Summary: There are no angels without their demons. That is the law of Silica, the capital island devoted to serving the Five Angels. Yet when law becomes blurred with loyalty and love, no one is safe in a world being reaped upon by angels themselves. However, the light of the fated Seraph will save them all from their ruin. At least that what Mika tells his self...even while in hell.
1. Blood Creamer

_The brightest light that burned that night were the shadows gleaming in its eyes._

 _The air froze, clinging onto the hairs of his trembling flesh, as the creature reared its head back. His stomach clenched into a knot with each drip of blackened red racing down the creature's jaw to its neck. His breath hitched at the back of his throat, yet didn't dare move._

 ** _Don't scream. Don't scream_** _, a foreign voice cooed in his mind._ _ **You'll never stop screaming.**_

 _Flecks of broken mosaics clattered across the ridges digging into the street with a mere growl—feral and sharp as it vibrated in the cage of its throat—that fell from the creature's lips. It tilted its head down at him with a glare until it fixed its eyes, black pools sweeping around a lone crimson iris, upon him. Just as quickly as it turned to him, it quickly shuffled closer. The creature whipped its head to the side, spitting a hunk of crumbled, bloodied bone out of its mouth. It dragged the heel of its claw across its mouth and crept closer until it hovered over him._

 _His flesh shriveled as he stared up at the black smeared across the creature's face while its lips fell into soft curve of a smile. His heart caught in his mouth. The creature leaned over him, its smile twitching eagerly the closer it leaned. It nuzzled the tip of its nose against his as it inhaled deeply. A shiver tore down the creature's spine as he caught sight of the mangled black bones rippling from its back._

 _The tip of the bones swayed with each sigh moving through the creature's body, leaving the ivory rings sewn down the edges dangling heavily across the ground. His muscles clenched against his bones as a slender claw traced his cheek. Steamy puffs fell across his face as the creature let its lips ghost his. Black droplets burned down his cheeks with icy tears until the claw melded into a hand pressing against his chest. The crimson irises in the creature's eyes widened, then softened with a gentle gleam. Its nails nicked through the tattered cloth on his chest, sighing with a quick brush its lips over his, "You're free."_

 _The cry tearing from his throat stormed through the smoldering night, leaving him clawing at the sky even after his voice went dry._

"—up! Wake up!" The boy felt his nails digging into his skin as he was slammed against the ground. He jerked violently at the pain blooming through his shoulder, forcing his eyelids to snap open. Rusty, brown orbs stared down at him, dodging the outstretched hand reaching over him. As air slowly filled his lungs, the boy doubled over with a harsh hack prying open his throat. The man over him leaned back as the boy dry heaved on his side. He hauled the boy upward as he shakily dabbed his chin drizzled in spittle.

"Thanks," he croaked weakly. The man's lips twisted into a frown while the boy rubbed his at his bobbing Adam's apple. The boy felt the other's glare burning through him and sighed. "Please don't make me."

"You had a deal." The man cut in sharply.

" _Deal_ ," the boy scoffed softly through another fit of coughs. "Deal to let them throw us deeper in hell."

The man stared down at him heatedly until the boy's shoulders slumped. He buried his face in his hands, mumbling, "Please don't make me."

The man reluctantly sighed. "Was it the same… _dream_?"

The boy sucked in a breath and nodded, blinking back the heat stinging his eyes. The man's glare softened, sagging against the walls creeping around them. "Alright." The boy's eyes gleamed even as the man quickly added, "Don't expect me to let it go next time."

The boy let out a heavy sigh, rolling onto his knees to lean towards him. He ducked his head ever so slightly.

"Thank you." He whispered.

The man rolled his eyes as the boy shuffled past him, his shoulders scraping against the walls. A fleeting streak of dark orange dusted through the cracks of the wooden planks overhead them, batting their shadows back behind them. The man flicked his gaze towards the roof brushing over their heads and back at the boy crawling through the narrow channel.

"You should get some more sleep." The man said. "You know day is just as bad as night."

The boy flinched, pressing his lips together in a thin line. He shook his head firmly, inching forward to the cramped orifice of his cot. The man sighed, staring at the boy disappear behind the blanket hanging from the planks. He crawled through the channel, cursing under his breath at the walls pressing down against his bulbous shoulders. As he scrambled towards his cot, he turned to the boy curling his thin blanket around him. He pressed his self close against the wall, away from the other bodies skewed together in a mangled heap. The man dropped his chin to his chest as he carefully climbed over the others. "I hope you know what you're doing." He kneeled closer to the boy, brushing clumped pale locks matted to his clammy skin to the side, whispering, "Mika."

 **Blood Creamer**


	2. 1 - The Weeping Flame

**1 - The Weeping Flame**

 _"An angel cannot sing without her demon to listen. A demon cannot wage darkness without his angel's chains. Neither can reap upon the world without kindling the holy fruit of their union. Yet when these spoil in parades of ruin, the weeping flame will show the way."_

 _—First Angel Mahiru_

The sea drowned in the sky's merciless gray as a pale sliver of white dipped its head into the bleak waters. A shadow rippled across the sky the deeper the light slowly sank into the abyss, dusting the streets in a muddied film. As the shadows creeping overhead thickened, flurries of pale green dust swirled through the air—mindless in their dance forgotten by the light. Mika wrinkled his nose as green light tickled the tip of it until it fluttered away without a second thought. He watched the wind puppeteer the lights over the edge of the steel scarp rimming the edge of where the sea crashed into the bay and sighed.

Blue and black roof flints circled around Silica as if embracing the island's neck in a bed of never ending gems, only to creep off near the bay—always near the bay. Mika's gaze skimmed over the city idly. Mere flickers of rooftops winked back at him under the graze of green dust. The boy let the glowing dust dance across his hand as the pale emerald nipped at his gloved fingers, ever so carefully searing away the black cloth.

 _Heaven's stars,_ he thought bitterly, shaking his hand free of the lighted dust. He stared at the ash lingering on the thin burns of his gloves solemnly. _If only I could be where you are._

"Save the dreaming for day will you." Mika glanced down from his perch at dark pools shooting him an icy glare. Lacus balled up a black cloak in his hands before tossing it up. Mika snatched the cloak from the edge of the wooden perch with a sigh. Lacus clucked his tongue. "Is that all you're good for? All you ever do is _sigh_."

Mika's lips tugged into a small smirk as he swung his legs over the perch. He pushed his self off the edge, landing on his feet with a soft thump.

"Is that all you're good for?" Mika chided lightly, pulling the cloak over his shoulders. "All _you_ ever do is complain."

Lacus's eyes narrowed on the other. He turned on his heel, slapping his hand against the back of Mika's head. Mika flinched while Lacus stuck his tongue at him. The blonde rolled his eyes as they exited the makeshift tower into the main frame of the Pit. "Real mature."

Mika shielded his eyes from the pale gray light flooding through the courtyard. He squinted at the light waning behind thick bars overhead The two's boots kicked up small dust storms in their wake as they reached the towering wall stretching around them. Mika glanced at the muddled reflection caught in the glistening steel, pausing for a millisecond to stare into dull grey and blue. The remains of his reflection waned to the light dipping past the pit and melted down the side of the wall. Mika watched his reflection turn to black and drip to the ground to mingle at his feet, now shying away from the light that crept towards it.

"We don't have all day Mopey." Lacus snapped. Mika scurried towards him and the others when Lacus yelped at the hand smacking his head. Lacus whipped his head at him, growling, "The hell Rene?"

Mika swallowed down a chuckle as Rene lowered his hand with a blank stare. "Hand slipped." He shrugged, folding his hands back behind his neck. He sauntered towards the end of the courtyard with Mika and Lacus behind him.

As they neared the end of the courtyard, Mika bit the inside of his cheek. He stared up at the thick gate before them inscribed with black intricate symbols. He curled and uncurled his fingers, swallowing around the knot slowly tangling in his throat. _A lifetime of this, and you still get chills._

A light rap against his forehead roused Mika from his thoughts. Mika pouted slightly at the daunting stare Rene shot down at him as he tapped a metal staff against his head again.

"Okay, I got it." Mika groaned. He grasped the staff from Rene, the heaviness of it instantly lifting as he shuffled it from one hand to the next. Rene's eyes roamed over Mika for a moment and nodded before nudging Lacus and his self down to the other end of the courtyard. Mika watched the two become blurs around the vast stretch of the Pit, both standing at their respective gates.

Mika's fingers ran over the bulges and curves of his staff, finding a sliver of his muddled reflection along the ashen metal. A low whine caught at Mika's ear drums and he brought his gaze up to the daunting gate towering over him. Bright copper began to burn through the symbols that waned against the gate. The symbols grew brighter, almost blinding, while morphing from their original positions before dashing up and down the gate.

Mika's eyes squinted at the shuffling symbols when a lone piece of metal slid to the side of the wall.

"You look jittery." The man grunted through the opening.

"Haven't I always?" Mika replied flatly, eyes locked on the gate.

"Only when you're about to do something stupid."

The corner of Mika's mouth twitched into the faintest of smirks before smoothing out into a line. "You sound concerned."

"Hardly."

The whining of the symbols grew louder as the sun set deeper into the horizon. The shadows in the pit grew thicker, clinging to Mika's heels while the symbols shone.

"You know you could lose your job," Mika stated. "Talking to me like this."

A heavy thud thundered within the gate; a series of stones and gears falling in and out of place filled the air as the symbols moved faster along the surface. Mika caught the man's chuckle through the thundering and shifted his head at the opening. Through the miniscule shelf bleeding more darkness into the Pit, the man tilted his head to the side. The copper light coming from the symbols cast a dull gold across his face. Dark brown hair framed the man's face, lighting his eyes a bullion gold brown as he grinned down at Mika.

"I don't have to be afraid of that." He shouted over the gate's violently whirring.

Mika blinked quizzically, blindly staring past the man. "And why's that?"

The man's grin twisted into a smirk the moment the symbols came to an abrupt halt. "Someone's gotta make sure you don't destroy us all."

The gates trembled outward with a groan, sending a rush of wind whipping past Mika. The light rush in his veins slowed to a mild thump as he drank in the darkness blanketing the street before him. Mika narrowed his eyes and stepped out of the Pit; the lone torch overhead the gate sparking to life with white flames the moment he did. The gem at the tip of the staff mirrored the torch's glow, snaking down the metal while a jagged edge pierced through the top.

"Be back—" The man started.

"—before the torch dies. I know." Mika finished. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as the last restraints of the Pit tugged at the back of him. He rested his forehead against the staff and sighed, "Pray for light."

"Pray for flight." The man sighed back. The two murmured in unison, "Let the heavens be my guide me through this night."

In Mika's mind, a chain clinked quietly in a pool night; its chime echoing through his mind as the chain shattered—and the world's doors opened.

Mika blinked once, twice, then bit back a gasp as the shadows devouring the ground lifted. His boots—a burning ivory, he noted absentmindedly—tapped the cobblestone street beneath him. The man raised his fist out towards Mika, and whispered, "Purify, my flame."

Mika flinched at the command and sprinted down the street towards the darkness. His frame melded with the shadows when an earsplitting roar rattled through the air. The man clucked his tongue irritably and looked up to the green stars glaring down at him.

" _Let the hunt begin_."

Θ

Blurs of dark blue flashed by Mika as his boots tore across the street. The twists and crevices overlaying the city merely pulsed by him in dull shades of blue. Yet in the maze entrapping him, one thing led him further down the path. He sniffed sharply, grimacing ever so slightly at the pungent odor of smoke and decaying flesh.

He clenched his staff tighter and came to an abrupt halt at the corner. He pressed his self between towering buildings into the short alleyway. He pressed his free hand against the wall as he inched down the alley. Mika's brows furrowed at the wall before him, catching a dull crimson dripping down the dark blue light of the stone. He pressed his fingers together, shivering at the thick substance leaving a lukewarm sting through his gloves.

Mika swallowed thickly, retching at stench of the ooze that burned his nostrils. He stumbled back against the wall. "Disgusting," he grumbled.

His nose wrinkled at the new wave of air brushing past him. The stench grew stronger at the end of alleyway, leading out towards the center of another close knit street. Mika moved down the street and stretched his head around the corner of the alley. His brows arched at the unfamiliar gold overlaying the blue illumination in his vision while a saccharine scent made his mouth water.

 _This wasn't here before._ He thought. Gold dusted the front of the building's door and windows, stark to the faint blue that had long since seeped into the stones and bricks. _Must be a new shop._

His eyes suddenly narrowed at the bright red staining the gold shadows of the window, tracing the contours of broken glass. Mika crept forward into the open street towards the building. He silently slipped through the door, or where it was supposed to be, and frowned at the papers littering the floor along with overturned tables, and deep scratches in the walls.

Mika eyed the crimson lining the wreckage that lead towards the back of the shop as his lips thinned into a tight frown. He carefully stepped over glass scattered over the floor, the scent of smoke, flesh, and sweetness burning through his nostrils. Red tracings on the tattered floor and walls grew brighter with each step until Mika came to an abrupt halt.

Mika's free hand immediately grasped his stomach—clenching his side tightly as if it would keep the roiling bile churning within at bay a moment longer—as the heavy curtain of shadows lifted. The boy's eyes watered at the overwhelming stench permeating from the raw carnage before him.

A slurred chorus of snarls and pants filled the air, falling from the bone, white jaw of the creature. Its claws firmly held onto the torn cheek of its prey while burying its muzzle into the wound stretching across its stomach. The creature reared its head up, flicking its black forked tongue across its blood drenched lips before diving back into its meal. Through the crimson glow splattered along the walls and floors, Mika could depict the blinding red radiating off the creature's huddled frame—the thick black swirls tracing its back to the tip of its tail telling the boy all he needed to know.

The cool metal stung against Mika's fingers the harder he clenched his staff. As the sickening slurps and crunches that flooded the kitchen wore on, the boy caught the faintest hint of a sniffle. Peering over the creature's shoulders, a woman trembled against the far corner of the kitchen.

She clenched her white dusted knuckles along tattered skirt around her legs. Her breath hitched at the back of her throat, throwing a shaking hand over her mouth as the creature's teeth chomped down on the skull of the man he devoured—thick drops of blood spilling from its muzzle. The woman choked on a scream at the black oozing across the floor, mockingly reaching out to darken her shadow.

The creature gulped loudly and rotated its shoulder around the room until it landed on her. Her eyes widened at the smooth, muscle pulsing on the side of the creature head as it blindly turned towards her. The woman's heart clung to her chest, beating ruthlessly at the cage of bones to flee.

"N-no," she whispered, wincing at the watery voice strangling out of her throat. Her heartbeat roared in her eardrums as its thin, fleshless lips smacked together and crept closer. Some untouched bud buried deep within the woman's bosom and mind suddenly flowered, weeping its midnight dew into her veins as a newfound voice cried, " _Stop! Please!_ "

Flecks of blood flew across the woman's face as the creature's puckered sockets gleamed down at her. The rapid beating of her heart matched the pace of the heavy breathing fanning over her face. She caught a sliver of her reflection amongst the razor sharp rows of teeth glinting in the dying moonlight as the realization of what the flowering bud within her sank painfully into her bones; the worst kind of death there could be in Silica:

 _Fear._

An earsplitting scream raged from the woman's throat as the creature threw its jaws towards her neck. Yet, the woman merely felt the creature's teeth graze of her jugular. The creature grunted quizzically at the pain sizzling down its back and twisted its shoulder behind it. The black eye sewn into the colossal meat narrowed on the wisp of smoke dancing off the tip of a staff.

The creature turned its head around to stare at the boy at the edge of the door. Mika lowered his staff albeit below his chest as the creature's growl shook the building. The creature turned its body fully towards him and crept forward.

"That's it," Mika murmured under his breath. "Come to the darker sinner _._ " The creature bathed its lips in blood speckled saliva, flashing its teeth at the boy as he smirked, " _What are you waiting for?_ "

The creature barked, digging its hind legs into the floorboards and pounced. Mika gritted his teeth, grunting at the iron nails digging into his shoulders. His body crashed through the kitchen walls and straight through the front of the building; shattered bricks and wood flew out with the two. Mika winced at the air flying out of him as his back slammed into the ground—feeling the cobblestone crunch beneath him.

Before Mika could register the pain exploding down his spine, he ducked his head at the claw swiping across his face. He raised his staff up towards the creature who pushed its claws down on the metal rod. Mika wheezed as the staff pressed down on his neck, feeling the moist, slobbering breath of the creature roaring down at him. He shakily gazed at snapping red jaws before raising his leg. He slammed his foot up into the creature, sending it flying down the street with a startled yelp.

Mika coughed harshly; his lungs greedily sucking in as much air as they could, no matter how rancid it was. He struggled to his feet, resting his weight against the staff, and rubbed his neck. His brows furrowed, rubbing his neck again as a bruise quickly rose across his flesh. Mika's lips teetered into a frown and winced at the cut throbbing along his bottom lip.

The creature let out a thundering growl as it punched its claw into the street. The eerie wail crossed roar made Mika raise his gaze up at the creature struggling to its feet. It ducked its head down at its midsection, where a black puncturing bruise tore through. It turned its head back at Mika and roared once more.

Mika narrowed his eyes at the creature scratching its claws across the ground. He forced his lips up into a light smirk.

"My brothers are going to be all over me for this thanks to you." Mika kicked the end of his staff up, twirling it in his hand before catching it. He pointed the jagged crystal edge at the creature. The creature crouched low as Mika whispered icily, "Have it your way, _demon_."

The creature's claws crunched into the ground, flinging a storm of cobblestones in its wake as it charged at Mika. Mika watched the creature rage across his maze of blue and gold buildings. He pressed the heel of his boots hard against the ground when the creature flung a claw out at him. Mika ducked back and forth as the creature continued to fling out at him.

The creature released a slobbering growl as the boy dodged from its attack again. It raised it claw up in the air, curling the iron nails into a fist, and slung it down over the boy's head. A wave of pain instantly rippled up the creature's arm. Its shoulder rolled over to peer over its fist to find Mika's forearm raised over his head—pushing the creature's fist away.

Mika forced his arm up against the mass of muscle, flicking the wrist of his other hand to fling his staff into the creature's adjacent arm. The creature let out a warbled wail at the crystal edge slicing through its arm, staggering back. Its black orb widened at the detached arm writhing against the ground.

The creature gritted its teeth, viciously cutting through its lips. It steadied its weight against its lone arm. The creature focused its black orb at Mika as it lapped at the black liquid oozing from its severed shoulder. The nails of its claw hardened into long slits, crushing the stone beneath it into mere dust. Pressing its hind legs into the ground, the creature leapt into the arm. It extended its claws out towards Mika's head with an inhuman cry.

 _Not yet._

Mika eyed the shades of red pulsing wildly through the creature when his eyes locked onto a shred of white tearing through its midsection. _Not yet._ As the tips of iron began to graze Mika's forehead, the white tear of the creature's midsection widened. _Gotcha!_

Mika leapt from the ground, spearing the edge of his staff into the white wound. The creature let out a garbled wail as the crystal tore through its slabs of sewn muscle. The flesh of the creature began to sizzle, thick whirls of smoke ravenously devouring its frame. Its black orb flicked at the shadows around it before locking its gaze on Mika.

The orb shook violently as it stared down into the endless violet abyss bleeding through the boy's eyes. The blinding swirl burned into the creature's orb, causing a ripple of shock racing through its limbs. The creature flung its hind legs and arm wildly, ignoring the searing burn growing deeper in its side when Mika narrowed his eyes into slits.

" _Silly demon_ ," Mika whispered. The creature froze at the eerie, detached words falling from the boy's mouth. Mika tilted his head up to glare directly at the creature's orb. His lips tenderly brushed against the lidless orb, the slime sticking to his skin as he murmured, " _You should have stayed in hell._ "

The creature barely had time to shriek when it felt the crystal blaze hotter. The creature's midsection swelled instantly before its body burst. Shreds of flesh flew through the air, painting the street black as blood and twisted entrails splattered across the torn stone.

The wisps of smoke once holding the creature curled back around the head of the jagged crystal. The gray gem glowed white as the smoke dispersed into it. Mika sighed deeply, flicking the staff to the side to shake the blood sticking to it off.

Mika froze his shakes as a shuffle pricked his eardrums. He turned to the dismantled building, catching a flicker of the woman's pale, mint-blue frame stagger against the crumbled stones.

"I-is," she stumbled over the tight knot of her tongue. "Is it gone?"

Mika stared at her with a sigh. "Yes." He watched her crumble her blood soaked sleeves in her trembling fists, her teeth tearing into her bottom lip. "Who were they?"

The woman flinched. "W-what?"

"I said," Mika turned to her. "Who were they?"

"M-my…my father and..." She swallowed hard, choking out, "son." The woman gazed at him with wide eyes that slowly flooded over with tears. She raced towards him, burying her head into his chest. "It's not fair! _He was just a boy!_ " Her fists clenched the front of his shirt, smearing blood down the black debris coating him.

"You…you killed it. You killed it with your own hands." She hiccupped. Her nails dug into his shirt and nipped at his chest. "Bring him back." She raised her gaze up at him, the black ooze and ash trickling down his face seeming eerily— _natural_ in her eyes. She pounded her fists against his chest fiercely, crying, "Bring him back! _Bring them back! Bring my family back Luk Kae!_ "

The woman's pounding slowly weakened until her arms dropped to her sides; her screaming withering into weak sobs. She rested her head against his soiled shirt when he murmured, "They weren't."

The woman flinched, raising her startled gaze up at Mika. Before she could say anything, Mika rested his gloved hand over her eyes and whispered softly, " _You woke from a terrible dream. You're father passed years ago. He felt no pain with you by his side._ " He let the staff lean against his shoulder as he curled his other hand around her head. He shushed her whimpers, combing his fingers through her tangled hair. " _You've yet to bear children, yet when you do you will love them with all your heart._ "

The woman trembled against his hold until her shoulders fell slack against him. Mika pulled away from her, cradling his staff in his hand once more. The woman's eyes dilated before her pupils grew wide.

"Of course," she mumbled distantly. "It…was just a bad dream." Mika watched her turn on her heel towards the building. "What a mess. I have to get this cleaned before…morning."

Mika gazed at the woman stumbling over scattered stones, barely wincing as fresh cuts pricked the soles of her feet, and wander into the building. A lone tear pooled at the corner of her eye, dripping into the blood splattered across her cheek. The boy gazed at the frail drop mix into a whirl of clouded crimson until it fell from her flesh—leaving a bare shred of flesh ready to be tainted once more.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading :) Also, OOCness to ensue for some characters.**


	3. 2 - When Morn Comes

**Chapter 2 – When Morn Comes**

 _"Of demons and men, who wander through the forest of shadows, the crown of dawn shall be your shepherd to the glade of peace—lest the luk kae devour your sheep."_

\- _Third Angel Shinoa_

The silver columns dotting the edge of the Pit, waned under the night's shadow as if stretching it further out among the streets with their own depths. The darkness clung to the columns, inching down the narrow silhouettes that fell just before Makoto's post. Makoto gnawed at the inside of his cheek as shadows from the columns twitched and slinked closer to his post. His teeth soon grazed his lip, nibbling fretfully when a rustle brushed by his ear. Makoto leapt towards the lantern by his side and swung it out. His hand hovered over his side—his fingers itching for the firm press of metal against it.

" _Naiphra namkhong huachai nangfa khong thad kan_ —" The prayer trailed off into a mild strangle for breath as the light in the lantern swept the shadows back. A pair of crimson eyes glittered up at Makoto. A lone tooth gleamed a sickly gray that matched the gnarled horns jutting from its head like thorns. Makoto's grip on his blade slacked. He tapped the side of the lantern, letting a thin piece of glass slide to the side. With a flick of his wrist he sighed, " _Pheu hell_."

The light in the lantern flickered from gold to blue. A wisp of flame hopped from the light and whizzed over the thick rim towards the horned rat. As the flame grazed it, a shrill squeak pinched the air before the rat dissolved into the wind's arms. Tufts of burnt fur whirled in a puff of smoke, following the trail in the air. Makoto slid the glass back into place and held the lantern to his chest. The warmth of the light thrummed against the glass, matching his heartbeat as he settled back against his post uneasily.

"You're getting lazy too soon aren't you?" Makoto flinched. He glanced over his shoulder at the man leaning over the railing above his post.

Makoto huffed, cradling the lantern carefully, "It's not like it was greater than a rogue demon. Why aren't you at your post anyway?"

Shusaku blinked blankly at him. "Making sure your corpse doesn't stain the post like the last keeper's."

A shiver tore down Makoto's spine, brushing the hairs on his skin up to attention as he bolted straight up from the post. He glared at the faint curl against the corner of Shusaku's lip and growled, " _That's. Not. Funny._ "

"I never said it was." Shusaku replied. " _I_ had to clean up the last mess."

Makoto ground his teeth together, grumbling under his breath when another rustle cut in. Makoto jerked his head to the side, his fingers tightening around the lantern and the other hovering over the blade strapped to his side, as another rat crept out of the shadows. His nose wrinkled at the even longer horns jutting out of the rat's head while its elongated claws scraped at the cobblestones along the ground. He slid the glass of the lantern aside when a dash of violet flicked past him. The rat let out a strangled wail as the dart pierced through its skull. The violet flare spread over its fur, devouring it in a sheer flame of black and purple before its ashes were carried off by the wind.

"Lucky shot," Makoto mumbled under his breath. "I was about to do that myself. I don't need babysitting from—"

" _Makoto._ " Makoto's jaw snapped shut at the clipped tone. He raised his lantern towards Shusaku with a grimace. The light fanning over his cheeks made his skin glow eerily white. Shusaku's flicked his stare at the fist gripping Makoto's lantern tightly, then back on the keeper with a firm frown creasing his brows.

"I mean it Makoto." Makoto sucked his bottom lip beneath his teeth. "You have a duty to uphold."

"Like I haven't heard this before."

"Makoto—"

Makoto's knuckles popped around the blade. "I've heard this since before I was born Iwasaki. 'Keep the Flames alive at all costs, but don't let them burn you in your haste for control.' You're forgetting that I was handpicked by the Angels themselves. I wouldn't be here now if they thought I wouldn't be a competent Gatekeeper."

The startling silence that surrounded his spat out words whipped Makoto instantly. He felt his blood run cold at the icy glare gleaming from Shusaku's dark, inky orbs as if the night itself were judging him.

" _Anyone_ can be a Gatekeeper Makoto," the words pierced through him like a knife, thoroughly wrenching him into dust, " _no one else can be a_ _Flame_."

Makoto dropped his gaze to the lantern practically melded to his hand. His eyes narrowed on the white light glimmering within the glass cage and cursed under his breath. He jerked away from the other Gatekeeper and sank back into his post. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck twitch at Shusaku's impeding gaze.

"Would you like me to accompany your watch?" He asked.

Makoto flinched, snapping, "You have your own gate to watch, don't you?"

Shusaku stared at him for a beat longer before disappearing into the shadows. Makoto's grip on the lantern tightened with each faint step Shuskau made until the thundering gears and moans of the night ravished his mind once more. Murmurs of past rumors about the previous Gatekeepers before him taunted his ears before a rustle broke his thoughts. A flurry of a prayer rushed to the tip of his tongue as he swung his lantern over the post. The flame stuttered to a halt however at the sight of a mouse scurrying across the ground. Makoto's chest tightened around his thundering heart. He slowly sank back into his post uneasily, absentmindedly cursing the cool sweat soaking through his uniform.

Makoto peered onto the thin wrinkle of darkness reeling back ever so slowly against the dull purple dusting the horizon and frowned. He glanced back at the colossal torch lying overhead the gate, its ivory flames devouring the thick, black branches. As wisps of ash fluttered past him, he stared longingly at the horizon, wondering with a gnawing sense of dread what lied beyond the post in the kingdom of night that his Flame lit through.

 _And if the last Gatekeeper shared his same thoughts._

ᴕ

The soft beat of breath rising and falling resonated through his veins. Every twitch of muscle his own mirrored; the slightest tickle of hair brushing against a cheek the same. However, at the faintest slide of a hand—callused with dry patches of skin—tightening against another, he jerked out of place as the melody of slumber carried on without him. His lips pressed together in a tight frown, for he couldn't imitate their warmth…not with so much innocence bared in their vulnerable chambers.

Mika threw his self up with a huff and rested his chin on his knees. _No one wants you holding them,_ he silently cursed to his self, his fingers rapped against the tiles of the rooftop with a somber glare.

His ears long since trained themselves to hear from the flicker of the wind straight to the very pulse of insect, yet in his many hunts through the city he couldn't fight against the urge to listen for the sound of humans. Not for their thundering heartbeats nor their strangled curses towards one another—but for the queer hum of their beings in their sleep.

His brothers constantly berated him for such a habit while hunting, Lacus adding none too discreetly how, "disturbing," it was. Alas, Mika noted with a wry smirk, there he was once again listening to his blue ghosts leave the land of the living for a strip of peace. _If only I could see what it was like._

Mika glowered at the tiles a moment longer before moving it toward the silver rim glinting back at him. Amongst the blues, red, and yellows dusting the city, a stark band of silver circled around Silica where faint sighs of waves crashed against it. Mika watched the wall glimmer and wane, towering one second over the city's compact maze and shadowing it the next. The boy strained his neck up and back, squinting to catch a glimmer of the sea beyond it to no avail.

He fell back onto the rooftop with his frown deepening. Not only had the wall kept him from glancing beyond yet again, but now the slumbering humans beneath him were too far gone to have their sounds lull him into their safe haven. Mika, sighing dejectedly, stared up at the mirage of dark blue film rippling over him while green specks of stardust burned through. He raised his hand up, stretching his red dusted hand to trace the stars and hissed at the gray that blindsided him. He covered his eyes as washed out gray bubbled along the edges of his vision. The dark blue began to shrink away from the edge of the wall with each nip of white wearing into it.

Mika's brows furrowed at the horizon and groaned. He rose to his feet, snatching his staff in one hand, and pulling his hood over his head. Turning towards the darkness, his vision swirled back into color as his boots dug into the tiles and leapt. The wind snapped his cape wildly behind him until he fell to the next edge of another rooftop. Clatters of tiles crunching beneath him broke the whirling silence the wind brought the further he leapt into darkness.

Mika watched the city's blue aura rise and fall beneath him, flicks of blue and yellow growing faint under the light's shadow. The bitter tang of copper tickled the roof of his mouth, yet he merely flicked his tongue across the puckered corner of his lip—taking the blooming pain in stride.

The colossal column of the Pit towered in the center of the city. Ashes swept across Mika's cheek the closer he got. As he leapt off the last building, Mika scanned the ground from the air. Vibrant pulses of blue and yellow glimmered back at him until a stark silver figure caught his eye. Through wiry thickets caging the block, the silver gleamed from the figure as if gracing its frame in a gentle touch, sliding to and fro as it tilted its gaze to the trees. Mika's brows rose quizzically, jerking his self down to the trees. He snatched a branch and swung around the trunk. He flicked his gaze across the wooded area, yet the halo of silver was nowhere to be seen.

"Just the light." Mika huffed bitterly, shaking his head. He broke through the thicket of branches over him as he soared through the air. Snapped twigs fell from his cloak with each leap, the silvery halo fading from his thoughts.

As Mika landed near the Pit, his boots sank beneath him. He arched a brow, glancing down at the torn up cobblestones along the street. He sighed, strolled towards the flickering flame overhead the gate. A low scuffle made his ears perk as he raised his staff in front of him in time for the blade that landed against it—inches from his face.

"You're _late_." Mika rolled his eyes. He saw a light dusting of red lingering on Makoto's face. The Gatekeeper threw another blade at Mika only for the boy to swing his staff to catch it against the metal.

"No." He eyed the sharp glints of silver idly and plucked them out of the staff. He tossed the blades back at Makoto. Makoto glared at the blades piercing the post with cracks spider webbing around them while Mika pointed his staff behind him. "I made it back before _that_."

Makoto ducked away from the staff blindly swinging towards him and idly followed it back to the wispy crown of golden blue bleeding tendrils into the night. He felt his chest release its hold on his heart and smiled lightly. As he jerked the blades out from the side of the post, he caught of glimmer of Mika's blazing eyes slowly dull into pale lavender and frowned. "Just get back inside."

Mika titled his head to the sound of his voice and tapped his staff against the gate. The blinding symbols waned to a dull copper as they jerked to the side. The gates swung outward as Mika trekked through. The white flame flickered madly along the middle of the torch overhead froze instantly. The flames curled around the edges of the torch before slowly creeping upwards. Ashes began to whirl around the torch, clinging and piecing itself onto the burnt stub until a pristine, ivory torch jutted out from over the gate.

The symbols on the gate slowly fell into the center as they creaked close behind Mika. A bleak gray began scattering across his vision when a rush of air blew behind him, scattering the colors of night like dust. Mika leaned against his staff when pinpricks of pain began throbbing through his muscles. He scraped his staff along the ground, straining his ears as he crept across the courtyard. He ducked beneath the shadow against the edge of the Pit and pressed his hand against the metal. When the wall began to dip, Mika stalked down the opening.

The metal walls pressing against his shoulders softened into crumbles catching along his cloak. The scent of wet earth tickled his nose, engulfing him as he wandered into the cellar. He blinked in the gray settling into his vision until the familiar shadows of cots lined along the ground were recognized. Mika took a step forward, wincing at the newfound pain gnawing at his leg. He shuffled ever so carefully to the wall when a sing song voice called out, "Mopey's home!"

Mika groaned. A faint violet silhouette waltzed around him before slinging an arm around his shoulder.

"Damn, you reek." He whistled lowly, pinching Mika's cheek. He tugged on the morsel of grimy flesh and wrinkled his nose. "And now you've probably gone on and trudged demon guts everywhere. You're so going to get it this time."

Mika rolled his eyes, replying, "At least I'm not a sopping blood mop."

Lacus narrowed his eyes on Mika's faint blue shadow and growled, "That was one time!"

"Every other month," Mika murmured.

Lacus's brows furrowed, whipping his hand against the back of Mika's head, albeit lightly, when he tottered back. "Come on Rene!" Lacus whined as the elder peeled him off of Mika. "He was asking for it that time."

Rene stared at the violet shadow writhing in his grasp and turned his head in Mika's direction. "You sound awful." Rene stated.

Mika sucked in a sharp breath, swallowing thickly as he caught eerie squishes of his flesh and muscles remolding beneath the surface. He shivered and shook his head. "Could you not listen to me healing myself?"

"Only when you stop needing to." Rene replied flatly.

Mika turned away, mumbling under his breath, and felt the cool support of his staff meld into air. His legs swayed under him, leaving him grappling for air as an arm wrapped around him. He let out a sigh of relief and patted the arm firmly around him.

"Don't be thanking me yet." Mika cringed at the daunting, wispy aura at the corner of his eye. Mika wriggled in his grasp and winced at the pressure pressed against his side. He groaned as he pulled his head up. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I was just going to wait for Acacia," Mika said warily. He shot a blind glare in the direction of Lacus's cackling and forced his muscles to cease their trembling. "You know I don't want you to have to—"

"He has things to do as well. He's not your personal nurse." Ferid snapped. Mika's lips thinned as the words pierced the ones on his tongue. He squirmed, weakly, when he felt his self being tugged out of Ferid's grasp.

"It's fine Ferid." Ferid arched a brow at the red shadow brining Mika's arm over his shoulder. "It's not like Mika's never been klutzy before."

Mika halfheartedly glowered at the red shadow as Ferid begrudgingly watched him half drag, half carry Mika through one of the tunnels. "Be back for—"

"—dinner, I know. You're more pestering than the keepers." Mika stifled a laugh, feeling a deep frown radiating from Ferid's aura. As the two trekked through the tunnel, the light hearted warmth permeating from the shadow quickly dropped to a resigned cool air. Mika silently cursed when he set him down, his body thrumming in pain. " _What. Happened?_ "

"Why does everyone make it sound like I was torn limb from limb?" Mika groaned irritably, throwing his head against the earthy wall. He winced as his cloak slid of his shoulders and Acacia held it in front of him.

"The cloak reeking of blood does wonders to the imagination."

Mika frowned and cast his gaze aside. Acacia pushed up his tattered shirt to the side and squinted at the dull flashes of red cringing along the pale blue shadow before him, inching from his neck to the base of his side. Acacia tenderly brushed his fingers over the gashes writhing back to together and cringed. He shuddered as if the pain leapt from Mika's body onto his and hissed, " _Mika._ "

"They're healing aren't they?" Mika retorted.

"They shouldn't have to." Acacia snapped. Mika dropped his head, wincing at the sight of the shallow red tearing through his blue aura his self before Acacia sighed heavily, "And you shouldn't be subjecting yourself to this kind of fighting."

Mika furrowed his brows while Acacia arched a brow at him. Mika chuckled breathlessly, sinking back against the wall. He ran his hand through his hair, ignoring the grimy stickiness of his blood caked gloves grazing his scalp, and stared at the shadowy roots waving at him overhead.

Quiet rustles of clothes being shoved aside and pressing against his wounds filled the air when Mika whispered, "There's a new shop."

Mika felt Acacia tense against him, pausing mid-drape of a bandage against him, and swallowed thickly.

"Was there?" He replied quietly. He straightened for a moment, straining for the sound of footsteps within the tunnels. As silence answered him, he pressed the bandage against Mika's abdomen. "What kind?"

"Bakery." Mika closed his eyes at the soft touches. "Right in the tenth spiral. Quaint place."

Acacia nodded, murmuring, "The observatory was torn apart."

"What?" Mika gasped.

Acacia held up Mika's arm, wrapping the gauze around a disturbingly blackened wound. "Damn demon shattered everything before I got there. Though the library underneath is still intact. Even the old man got out okay."

" _Really?_ "

Acacia pinned the dressing and gauze together, shrugging, "He'll just wake up from a nightmare about losing his leg outside the wall. He seems ancient enough to have lived from then."

Mika chuckled, his muscles wincing at the sudden jerk in his limbs. "I don't believe Ferid would approve of that deduction." Mika's low laughter was cut off as Acacia pinched his nose.

He smirked nefariously, "Neither of you drawing out your fights."

Mika let a small grin trace his lips, looking up at the red shadow.

"You wouldn't do that," he said nasally.

"And why's that?"

Mika leaned towards him, not noticing the instant tension in Acacia's arms or the jump in brightness in his shadow. Mika breathed, "You love me too much—too much to be like him."

Acacia's mouth grew dry as he flicked his tongue across his flaky lips. He swallowed heavily and release Mika's nose with a somber smile. "If I loved you more, I would be like him."

Mika blinked quizzically as Acacia rose to his feet. The elder shadow shook stretched his arms over his head and tapped Mika's forehead.

"I'll save something at dinner." Mika jerked up only for Acacia to spat albeit coldly, "You shouldn't have let yourself be hurt so easily."

Mika pursed his lips out in a mock pout. "Fine."

"Leave the pouting to Lacus. It just looks bad on you." Acacia ruffled his hair, ducking out into the tunnel. He called back, "Keep the bandages in line or—"

"—or they'll inflame in the light, I know!" Mika called back with a groan.

He slumped onto his side and rolled onto his back to stare at the earth overhead. The straggly, dark roots gnarled into meshes above while burrowing into the tunnel's cavern. The others, locked out by the tight knit roots already feeding from the walls, strained for the ground—growing thicker, yet fragile the more they stretched downwards.

Mika's lips returned to their thin line as he tilted his head to the side. _I wonder if that's how they live up there,_ he pondered, _dangling until the world above them says otherwise._

 _"Luk kae!"_ His thoughts derailed by the sudden echo of the woman's pained cry. A bitter scoff fell from his lips that quickly crumbled into a sickly bark of laughter. He held onto his sides, his lungs burning from the strain on his body until it slowly died down.

" _Luk kae_ ," he chuckled the word bitterly. An alien prick of warmth pooled at the corner of his eye, sliding down his cheek until it hit the ground. As the tear was devoured by the earth beneath him, Mika whispered,

"…if only we were that."

* * *

 **A/N: FINALLY! It took three weeks of battling procrastination and work, but it's done! \\(*o*)/ I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think or look forward to. Have a wonderful day!**


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